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City Park
City Park Stadium, commonly referred to simply as City Park, was an outdoor sports stadium located in Ducken Road Park in Randall City, Washington that was most recently used as the home stadium for the track and field, soccer and football programs for Whidbey Island University. The venue orginally opened in 1960 as a small soccer stadium and underwent major expansions in 1969, 1975 and finally 2002. The stadium was previoisly home to Randall City FC of the West Coast Soccer League for their one and only season in 1964, the Randall City SeaDogs of the WCSL for 14 seasons, and the NAFL's Randall City Reign for three seasons. History Construction and early years In early 1957, the Randall City Council proposed building a soccer stadium in hope of luring a professional team to the city as a group of soccer fans from Idaho worked to create a soccer league. Ducken Road Park was selected as the most viable location due to proximity to downtown and Whidbey Island University. Construction began in 1958 on a 2,500 seat stadium and took two years to complete due to contract disputes. The stadium finally opened in March 1960 with a soccer match between Randall City High School and Oak Harbor High School which RCHS won 2-0. The stadium would sit empty for four years following the high school exhibition until the Randall City FC of the newly formed West Coast Soccer League took the field in 1964. Following Randall City FC's only season, the team was relocated to Salem, Oregon leaving the stadium to sit empty once again. Soocer, football and expansions Following the relocation of the Randall City FC, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city who sued the WCSL over breach of contract. The league was forced to pay $1 million in damages and award a new franchise to the city. The stadium was then expanded to 5,000 seats in time for the expansion Randall City Sea Dogs to begin play in 1969. The club would play 14 seasons at the stadium before folding in 1982. The stadium was expanded once again in 1975 as the city was attempting to lure a North American Football League expansion team. The stadium was expanded to 12,500 with the ability to expand temporarily to 15,000. In 1980 the Randall City Cowboys of the NAFL began their inaugural season using the larger 15,000 capacity. The team only played three seasons at City Park while a new domed stadium was being constructed downtown. Following the 1982 soccer and football seasons the stadium closed and sat abandoned for years until 2000 when the facility was purchased by Whidbey Island State College. Rebirth as a college stadium In 2000, the stadium was purchased from the city by Whidbey Island State College who were preparing to become a full fledged university and wanted to begin competing in athletics. The stadium was expanded from 12,500 to 28,000 and reopened in time for the inaugural seasons for Whidbey Island University. In 2018 construction began on a replacement stadium that will open in 2020 and lead to the destruction of City Park Stadium. Capacity Soccer *2,500 (1960-1968) *5,000 (1969-1974) *12,500 (1975-1982) *28,000 (2002-2019) Football *15,000 (1980-1982) *28,000 (2002-2019) Replacement stadiums Randall City Megadome The Randall City Cowboys was first announced as an expansion team in 1978 and as part of the agreement to admit the team, construction began in downtown Randall City on a domed stadium that would be home to the team. Construction was only supposed to take two years but ending up taking nearly four years. The Cowboys and the Sea Dogs moved into the new stadium when it opened in March 1982. Whidbey Island Stadium The President of Whidbey Island University announced his intent to have a new stadium built on campus during his tenure on December 15, 2017. The new stadium would also be capable of hosting track and field, soccer and football rendering City Park obsloet. Various developers have voiced desires to purchase a vacated City Park and have presented various plans for the property including luxury apartments, boutique shopping and even a high rise hotel. The city has yet to comment on the possibility of selling the stadium. City Park was demolished and replaced with a small football stadium. Category:Sports venues in Randall City